Meme coins inspired by former President Donald Trump rose higher on Sunday following President Joe Biden’s announcement to end his re-election bid and pull out of this year's race.
Political candidates during this election cycle have continued to garner interest from punters of the blockchain betting site Polymarket, as well as renewed interest in meme coins.
Solana-based Trump meme coins, Doland Tremp (Tremp) and TrumpCoin (DJT), rose more than 10.5% and 6.5% on the day shortly after Biden made his announcement on X.
Ethereum-based meme coin Maga Hat (MAGA) also rose by more than 7%, according to CoinGecko data.
Both Tremp and DJT surged to their highest point since the attempted assassination of Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, with the former rising to $0.54 while the latter touched $0.008.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden wrote in a letter. “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
Jeo Boden (BODEN), a Solana-based meme coin inspired by President Biden, sank as much as 58% and hit an all-time low as traders sought to quickly offload following the announcement.
In a separate tweet, Biden formally endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party nominee.
Solana-based meme coin Kamala Horris (KAMA) surged on the news, jumping more than 100% and breaking to a new all-time high just above $0.02, data shows.
It ended weeks of speculation that Biden would drop out following mounting pressure from his party, including Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, due to concerns over his health and age.
While meme coins have continued to see renewed investor interest in recent months, it's still "too early" to tell if a resurgence in the sector is underway, David Lawant, head of research at FalconX, wrote in a recent investor note.
"It is too early to definitively call for the return of alt season, as BTC and ETH have many significant drivers in the coming months. But it might be prudent to start looking beyond majors."